Vitola: Rapier (Perfecto)- 6.5” x 44 ring gauge
- ~$10
- Purchased from Small Batch Cigar
Background
Time for another “One Shot Review” in which a cigar I haven’t had before (or haven’t had in a very long time) has just a single stick to leave a lasting impression on my palate. Why “One Shot”? Because I’m lazy? Because I’m poor? No…because that’s the way the average cigar smoker makes up their minds on a blend…smoke it once and see what you think. If they like it, they buy more…if not, they don’t waste their money. I bought a sampler from Small Batch Cigar featuring several blends I hadn’t had before and decided to use it for this “One Shot” series. The “Good Then Gone” Sampler is still available as of this writing.
So I’ve had the Viaje Honey & Hand Grenades blend a long, long time ago…before I just basically started ignoring Viaje blends altogether. Not that they were bad…they just weren’t consistent. And then they acknowledged their inconsistency by saying that even their “regular releases” were all to be considered “limited editions” and not to expect them to be the same year-to-year. So when they quit trying, so did I.
This Viaje HHG is a Maduro (not sure if they did a natural version), featuring Nicaraguan filler and binder, along with a Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper. While the company is tight-lipped on where their cigars are made, it is believe that most of their production uses Aganorsa leaf.
Prelight
The presentation of the Honey & Hand Grenades line is possibly the best in the Viaje lineup. The fun band with a bee that has a hand grenade for a body, combined with the bright red foil that covers the majority of the cigar…it’s a look that you don’t forget quickly.
What little of the actual wrapper leaf you can see is a dark chocolate brown, unusually smooth for a San Andres, and just slightly oily. It smelled very strongly of earth with a leather and coffee mix that was unmistakably “Mexican leaf.” Since this cigar is tapered to a point for the foot, there was nothing different coming from that area of the unlit cigars.
Once I clipped head and foot, the draw was very good, featuring flavors of tea and coffee, earth, and semi-sweet chocolate, along with a touch of pepper spice.
Flavor
I fired up the Honey & Hand Grenades Maduro and got a very nice mix of cocoa powder, espresso bean, and semi-sweet chocolate overlaying leather and earth and mild red peppers. The retrohale had a much stronger red pepper spice with more coffee notes. The first third continued with earthy and spicy flavors up front, along with plenty of chocolate sweetness to provide really nice balance. There was a nice coffee note on the finish.
As I got into the second third, the espresso bean note came more to the forefront, playing rather nicely with the earth and pepper spice. There was still a good amount of chocolate sweetness for balance, as well.
The last third of the Honey & Hand Grenades Maduro had more chocolate sweetness, more espresso bean, and a constant undercurrent off earth and leather. Pepper spice held on to keep things interesting.
Construction
I had a great draw, very even burn line, and solid ash.
Value
Very good Mexican Maduro at an average price of $10, so excellent value.
Conclusions
I have to say, this Viejo Honey & Hand Grenades was a pleasant surprise, offering great complexity in a medium-to-full-bodied cigar, keeping my interest every step of the way. I don’t remember the previous times I smoked this being this interesting or good…but maybe that was just a “lesser” batch. When everything is “small batch” it’s hard to be consistent. If you can get your hands on this batch, I highly recommend it.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
